Sleep & Your Energy

Winston-Salem, NC -- A lot of us would gladly hand over money for a better night's sleep.

Dr. Sandhya Kumar, a Wake Forest Baptist Neurologist says no money needed, just be disciplined "Have a fixed bed time and wake up time included on weekends."

That's right, get up every day at the same time, even on the weekends!

Your sleep is divided into two segments: rapid eye movement or REM sleep and non-rapid eye movement or non-REM sleep-- which has 4 stages. Your sleep cycle starts with N1 (N2,N3,N4)and ends with REM sleep.
Your body goes through each cycle 5 to 6 times a night and each lasts 60 to 90 minutes.

"If you happen to awaken during the N3 sleep, then you will feel groggy."

And there's the belief if you adjust your sleep time to include only 90-minute cycles for example: 6 hours of sleep versus 5 and a-half you have a better chance of not waking up groggy.

"The important thing to awaken without feeling groggy is to get enough sleep which is for an adult between 7-8 hours."

And what if you can't fall asleep?
Doctor Kumar says if you're tossing and turning for more than 20 minutes--get up!
Read a book, listen to relaxing music.
Don't watch t-v or get on your phone.
And what about that glass of warm milk?
The doctor says it has tryptophan in it Which can give you a sleepy feeling, but its not a cure for sleepless nights.

And as you might have guessed, there are plenty of Apps to help you set your sleep cycle and wake up at the right time.